Feb. 17, 2014

Nashville Mayor Karl Dean

Written by

Gail Kerr

The Tennessean

Not because they are trying to do something in Davidson County to address the extremely high number of domestic violence cases. That is a commendable goal. No, the shame should be in covering up a negative report about the issue and releasing 22 pages of glowing plans. The unfortunate outcome is that this creates doubts that anything will be done.

Back in September, Dean gathered a long list of movers and shakers to pose with him in front of the Metro Courthouse to announce a bold new plan to deal with domestic violence in Nashville. Metro police were called 11,895 times last year for domestic violence crimes. That represents 47 percent of all crimes against people in Davidson County.

And the scariest statistic of all: Since 2008, domestic violence has consistently been the cause of 15 percent of homicides in Nashville. That amounts to 10 dead women and children annually.

The 22 pages outlined detailed plans to address the problem. Among the changes the report recommends: All 911 operators should have access to all protective orders. Security should be increased in courtrooms and the courthouse parking lot. Victims should have a safe place to fill out paperwork. It was a good report, one that city leaders including Dean promised would be implemented and not left on that dusty shelf.

And so far, they have kept their word. Things are changing in how Nashville’s domestic violence victims are treated. But Tennessean reporter Brian Haas, after filing a public records request, got a copy of a secret report. He broke a story that makes those involved cringe.

The report is 185 pages of extremely critical information about Metro’s domestic violence system. It brought up issues never addressed in the public report.

For example, the secret report said victims sometimes waited up to four hours for an officer to arrive. Think about that. Your husband has beaten you up. You are bleeding and it takes four hours for help to come. Kind of hard to believe in the system after hearing that, isn’t it?

The unreleased report detailed how frequent it was that judges and night court commissioners blamed the victim. Police failed to photograph the battered woman’s injuries. And, in a startling accusation that police leaders deny, the secret report said Metro police officers were given more points for ticketing speeders than for investigating charges of domestic violence. Metro’s legal director, Saul Soloman, called the report a gathering of “unsubstantiated observations.”

If I had experienced a broken arm, black eye and bloodied nose, I’d be hopping mad to be called an “unsubstantiated observation.”

Secrecy does not breed trust. By covering up the first report, the Dean administration has made it easy for people to scoff at genuine efforts to change how the criminal justice system treats domestic violence victims.

All they had to do was incorporate the bad in the final report, listing the problem and then the planned solution beside it.